Persona 3

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Persona 3 is probably still my favorite video game of all time, since I first played it back in 2012. When I first heard it was being adapted into a film series, I was essentially a typical excited fanboy. But when I watched the movies, they left me disappointed with the final products. Fast forward to a couple years, I heard that the manga series that had been releasing in Japan were finally being localized to North America. I kept my expectations low at this point for obvious reasons, and thank the lord that I did. Because this manga series just blew my expectations out ... of the water and then some.

Unlike the film series, this manga series is much more faithful to the original game with just some minor tweaks. And even so, I think said minor tweaks actually enhanced the overall experience. Now one thing to note is there is one major difference between the manga and the game: the Protagonist's (named Minato in the manga) interaction with the supporting characters (i.e. Kenji and Hidetoshi) are almost non-existent. They still appear in the manga, but their stories aren't explored. This didn't bother me, since the supporting Social Links from the game was never a huge factor of the game compared to it's future sequels. So, in my opinion, this was acceptable. Aside from that, the manga is very much identical to the game.

Story - 10
Although the story of Persona 3 is fairly simple, it's the journey that makes it worthwhile. The dark atmosphere about the Dark Hour, the mystery behind Tartarus, and the plot twists as the story progresses (particularly towards the climax) are all what really pulled me in in the first place. The manga's presentation of the story also reflected that of the FES version of the game (which was also adapted in the Portable version on PSP). This story still holds a very special place in my heart, and I am so happy to see it done justice in this manga adaptation.

Art - 10
Not much to say about the art. Shuji Sogabe's illustrations remain faithful to Shigenori Soejima's original artwork. I guess the appropriate phrase to say is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". And Sogabe definitely followed just that.

Character - 9
Now I know I just said that it was acceptable for this manga adaptation to drop the supporting characters from the game. However, I still think the manga could have still been able to briefly explore each character so that, without spoiling anything, the ending would make a little more sense. But nonetheless, the main cast were still the highlight of the story and they were presented exactly as they should, even towards the end.

Enjoyment - 10
I enjoyed Persona 3 to death back when I first played it in 2012. Going through it again, but in the form of a manga, that enjoyment is still as strong as it was. Though, I'd probably say it may be even stronger thanks to the minor tweaks, as I've mentioned. One thing that the manga added was more humor. I will admit, the amount of humor in the game was lackluster. So it was refreshing to see that even as dark as Persona 3 can get, Sogabe was able to fit a good amount of humor in the manga.

Overall - 10
If you can't/couldn't enjoy the video game because of it's gameplay (believe me, I know that was the game's major drawbacks), this manga adaptation is a perfect alternative. Again, I would probably go as far as to say that this is superior to the game. The Shadow battles are still exciting, the characters are still captivating, and the story is still one of the best stories that I've ever enjoyed. I can't recommend this manga adaptation enough because it is that damn good. All 11 volumes are out now, officially translated in English, so if there was anytime to start reading, it'd be now.

Persona 3.
What a wonderful game.
It inspired me so much and brought me to tears many times.
I love this manga, and went out an bought it at a convention. I own 1-3.

The art is GORGEOUS and the storyline is great.
I love this adaption and recommend it highly.

Persona 3 manga is a poor adaptation from the videogame that focus only on the main story. If you only care for that part, then this is the right manga for you. If you, however, prefer some more MC development and side characters (besides the main team), then I'm sorry to say that this isn't for you and you'll be more suited to watch the movies instead. This review is spoiler-free from the main events, mentioning only a few names, and will expose what's so wrong about this source.

>Played the original game, finished a few months after starting the manga.
>Read on retail manga, taking both ... time and money.

Without more to say, I leave the rest of the review for the thoughts on it.

Story: 5

The manga is basically the game's story, no social links nor Elizabeth events featured. But why is it bad, if the game is so appraised? First of, the horrible pacing. At least in each volume you are going to find time skips that, for the average reader, will just confuse them. I started this manga when I barely got into October in the game, so seeing November's events in volumes 2 and 3 were, as I've said, confusing. Second, the lack of social links. The most of it you will find is the death arcana one, but even still it's story-related so it wouldn't count as a social link itself. What made this game so great, besides its main story, are all of the side stories that you can learn from the side characters, such as the 'gamer' social link, Tanaka (which yes, he also didn't even appeared here either), the old couple, etc.

Lastly, as I've already mentioned on the beginning of this part, there are no Velvet Room events. While for the fusion scenes is justified, the fact that it also skipped most of Igor's dialogue during the game and all of the Elizabeth's events (imo, the best so far in the game and a shame that she only appears as a background) is like a joke.

TL;DR: straight game story with time skips for the most part.

Art: 8

It must be said that the author really catched the Persona art-style. The grey tones used also makes it good for a better interpretation (for example, darker tones for the Dark Hour scenes). The chibi style used for some pannels are also good, but sometimes feels way too loosed, as if there's a need to make it bad on purpose for the scene to be funny. Cover art is also gorgeous, so far being 10th and 11st the best imo. This would be the major positive point for the entire manga.

Characters: 4

Again, this is mostly due to the pacing being horrible most of the time, but the cast seems so out place (and yes, this also include in the game itself, not only the adaptation). First of, Makoto/Minato's personality doesn't feel good. It seems as the author wanted him to be an edgelord that doesn't give a thing about people, but at the same time a timid personality. At times he can be annoying for the reader, but towards the end his trait seems to be fixed finally. As for the side characters, each of them has their own 'arc', but Yukari and Aigis, which for some reason appears the most? While Aigis had their proper character development, I can't say the same for Yukari. I can't stand her, neither in-game nor this manga. If you are familiar with FES's The Answer part, you'll know how I feel.

Now, jumping on to each development arc, it has to be said that some of them are fairly short, not being more than 2 chapters. Some backstories are so short that you are probably forgetting about it a few chapters later (at least 2 characters, Ken and Shinji, are almost present in this meaning). Even then, everyone has the typical backstory: depressive story about how our character lost a loved one, be it physically or in terms of being dead. Only exception for this is Fuuka, and when I say 'only', she's literally the only one in the entire manga who doesn't have this cliche backstory.

Personal enjoyment: 7

As I've mentioned again again, the terrible pacing and characters made it hard to enjoy the reading. Not only that, but as someone who bought the whole retail manga 1 by 1, it feels more worth to wait for the game port to come, play with emulation/PS2 or just watch the movies instead. 11 volumes are way too much, knowing that in the 8th one it enters the final stage (basically rushing through the main story) and it takes 3 more to ONLY get to The Journey ending. Sogabe's extra pannels aren't bad, but sometimes feels useless (with all due respect, as I know he might made those for entertainment/commentary purposes, I mostly skipped them after volume 5).

So, overall?

A 6/10 is the most suited rating for this. Without comparing sources, the story is pretty average and it's not until the end where things get spiced up. Using the excuse of being an adaptation, there could have been parts where it explained more about the personas, since that's one of the key parts not only in Persona, but in Megaten series as a whole. Seeing the MC, who has the ability to make any persona, using almost the same ones through the pages, it makes the interest fade away and the battles almost predictables in terms of actions.

In the end, it's up to the reader to consider if it's worth giving this a shot. With both main game and movies being out there (plus some ports that are going to come anytime soon), it's almost irrelevant to try this. However, if you are lazy to finish it, or don't like watching anime (or if you only want to read main events, but as I said you'll skip a lot of good moments), then you can consider reading it.